‘Our enemies will pay a big price’: Israeli politicians react to attempt to crash flydubai flight to Tel Aviv

After the dramatic incident earlier today, in which the copilot of a flydubai flight apparently attempted to bring down a plane of almost entirely Israeli passengers flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv, Israeli politicians responded to the incident, with many praising the bravery of the Israeli passengers who intervened. 

Blue and White party chairman and former Minister of Defense Benny Gantz commended the Israeli passengers who helped prevent the plane from crashing.

“It’s still too early to know what the sequence of events was in this morning’s flydubai flight to Israel, but it’s already clear that Israelis are a rare breed,” Gantz wrote on 𝕏, after details about the attack began to leak. “The resourcefulness and courage displayed by the passengers on this flight, in the face of clear mortal danger, are exactly the stuff our people are made of.” 

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett also praised the Israeli passengers who helped subdue the attacker and prevent a catastrophe.

“Where in the world is there another nation like this, where citizens calmly take over an armed hijacker at an altitude of thousands of meters while the plane is in a dive, and save the lives of 180 people?” Bennett wrote on his 𝕏 account. “The entire people of Israel are proud of you and salute you for your bravery and resourcefulness.” 

Before official reports were released to indicate a clear terror motive, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said, “The State of Israel must address the intent and not the results.” 

“Whoever tried to crash a plane and murder 180 Israelis must pay as if he murdered. He and every state or terrorist organization that sent him,” he added. 

Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar posted a similar message to social media, writing, “Israel's enemies will pay a big price.” 

Defense Minister Israel Katz was the first government official to report that the incident was an attempted terror attack. 

“The serious incident on the flydubai plane was an attempted jihadist attack, which was thwarted only thanks to the heroism of a number of Israeli passengers who broke into the cockpit, took control of the terrorist and returned control of the plane to another crew of pilots who were present there,” Katz told Israeli media earlier on Wednesday. 

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir used the incident to call for continued military operations “in Iran, Lebanon, Gaza, and Judea and Samaria.” 

Right-wing opposition party head Avigdor Liberman, also praised the passengers and blasted attempts by coalition members to take credit for the successful resolution of the situation. 

“I am glad the incident ended safely and that all the passengers emerged unharmed,” Liberman wrote. “I am proud of the Israeli passengers who took control of the situation during moments of immense pressure and immediate mortal danger.” 

“It is disgraceful how media mouthpieces and partisan operatives tried to score political points out of a plane hijacking – a situation where citizens faced danger and uncertainty,” he continued. “Yet, nothing is surprising anymore when it comes to the government of Goldknopf, Deri, and Bibi. While people were fighting for their lives, they were looking for ways to spin the story. We will soon replace this unhinged government.” 

"The Democrats" party leader Yair Golan similarly praised the Israelis who helped bring the incident to an end.

“Seeing the details emerging about the flight from Dubai to Israel, and feeling filled with pride for the brave Israelis who, in a moment of danger, displayed ingenuity and exceptional courage,” Golan wrote on 𝕏. “These are the moments that remind us who we are, ordinary people who, in the moment of truth, reveal extraordinary courage.” 

Meanwhile, opposition leader Yair Lapid responded to claims that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had warned about such an attack in his brief video address to the nation on Tuesday evening. Lapid had received a routine security briefing for the opposition leader shortly after.

“Let me be clear: nothing even remotely resembling this morning’s aircraft incident came up during the security briefing with the Prime Minister last night –not similar, not reminiscent, not even a hint of it,” Lapid wrote in a post on 𝕏. “The spin campaign the mouthpieces are running now only proves what was already clear yesterday: they are once again trying to play cheap politics at the expense of Israel’s security. A reckless bunch.” 

Later, after an anonymous government official said that "the military secretariat informed him last night that there is a significant increase in terror incidents around the world,” Lapid again denied that the warning had anything to do with the flydubai incident. 

“The ‘political source’ (interesting who that is) who is so reckless is lying again,” Lapid wrote. “The warning about activity abroad is specific, has been in place for more than two years, and has nothing to do with planes or anything resembling what happened this morning.” 

After Transportation Minister May Golan called for flydubai flights to Israel to be banned, former Israeli Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates Amir Hayek said, “Flydubai and Etihad are the only two airlines in the world that continued flying to Israel even during the most difficult times. The UAE and the airline deserve for us to set aside speculation and allow them to thoroughly investigate what actually happened.” 

“I trust them,” Hayek added. 

Israeli Druze radio personality Lorena Khateeb posted a video of an Israeli passenger in Saudi Arabia receiving care from Saudi crew members, with the caption, “Humanity unites us, and perhaps paves the way for peace?” 

مسافرون إسرائيليون يتلقون الرعاية من طاقم سعودي بعد هبوطهم في المملكة العربية السعودية.

الإنسانية تجمعنا، وربما تفتح الطريق للسلام ? 🇮🇱🇸🇦 pic.twitter.com/HMFJHodCUL

— Lorena Khateeb | لورينا خطيب (@kh_lorena) September 30, 2026

She also posted a video in which a different Israeli passenger spoke highly of the warm reception and high level of care the Israelis received at the Saudi airport of Tabuk, where the plane made its emergency landing. 

After several hours, a second flydubai plane arrived in Saudi Arabia, and returned all the Israeli passengers successfully to Israel.